Brunch in Cambridge at Brookline Lunch, Cambridge, MA

Say you are in Cambridge, MA and Saturday sneaks up on you. You decide you've had a long enough week and it is time to forget about the uninteresting details of everyday life and concentrate on the important things. You decide you want to go out for Brunch. Cambridge? Brunch? Where do you go? Brookline Lunch???????????????? You bet!

Ok, I agree it is a confusing name for a Brunch spot in Cambridge. The fact it is called Brookline has nothing to do with the neighboring town, but with the address of this establishment on Brookline St. (by the way, this is the first time since Ani and I are writing this blog that we come across an establishment with no official web site! In any case, here's a link to a Yelp! page with all the necessary info). Lunch, I don't understand. Maybe they thought lunch would be their thing when they opened this place. Maybe people do go for lunch. Maybe it hints at the fact that prices are more lunch like than dinner like... Whatever the reason you should not be discouraged and consider this hidden gem as an option for the Mother of All Meals when in Central Square.

Brookline Lunch is located in a little rundown building just off Mass Ave. The decor is eclectic and dominated by exposed brick walls and old artifacts/toys that might have been forgotten and left there by previous tenants 60 years ago. Tables are old and a little bit unstable. Still, the whole atmosphere is mostly dominated by pieces of art borrowed from Out of the Blue Art Gallery, which is located not far, on Prospect St. I believe this establishment was closed for repairs for a while (can't tell what was it that needed to be fixed) last year, but it is now back in business full blast.

Now, one of the main features of this place is that it is clearly inexpensive. Don't expect fancy cutlery or table centerpieces. On the other hand, affordability lures in a pretty interesting and heterogeneous crowd ranging from hungry grad students to starving poets and artists. The establishment has a family-owned-and-run feel and everything is cooked to order. The menu is dominated by egg-based food divided by categories: Egg breakfast sandwiches, Benedicts, Eggs+ (like Eggs + Bacon) and Pancakes with Eggs (yeah, pancakes are considered egg based food). As always I decided to give the Eggs Benedict a try. The main reason I was attracted to this option is that they offer a wide variety of Benedict-like dishes, where different ingredients take the place of the thick cut ham. I went with the Bacon Benedict. It was really tasty, I have to say. Eggs were perfectly cooked and the home fries (of which I'll say more in a second) were perfect. The only complaint is that bacon was a little scarce. It is obvious to me - and we can put it up for vote - that two strips of bacon are needed per English Muffin. At Brookline you'll get one. Of course, you can't complain about value, even with the one strip per muffin situation. Ani, on the other hand, went with the Ham and Cheese Egg Sandwich. It had a great home-made look (and taste!). As with all dishes, home fries accompanied the sandwich in style. These home fries are something else, I'll tell you that. Crispy on the outside and soft inside, mixed with all sorts of vegetables, from large pieces of green peppers to broccoli, they are a great side to any dish and great way to jump start your weekend. One more thing: do not forget to ask your server for the home made hot sauce - it goes great with the potatoes.

All in all, this is a great option for a low key Brunch experience in Cambridge, where sometimes it gets steep to have a good meal. We will certainly be back.